


My Clock Has Changed

by twerkteamlevi



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 01:19:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5950699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twerkteamlevi/pseuds/twerkteamlevi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My Clock Has Changed</p><p>The most terrifying moment of Rei Ryugazaki's life was the moment he boarded a plane to fly home to see his boyfriend-after not seeing for nearly a year- and having his clock change. (An AU in which everyone has a clock tattooed to their wrist and its slowly counting down to their death.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Clock Has Changed

The light blinked for the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, and Rei placed his suitcase above his seat in the the stowaway area before hurriedly taking his seat, politely stepping passed the old woman in the aisle seat.  
It was another half an hour before the pilot finally gave the ok for people to use their electronics. Rei immediately pulled out and turned on his phone. He rolled his eyes as he saw he had several missed calls from Nagisa.  
The blue haired male dialled his boyfriend, placing his phone against his ear as it ran twice before the other end picked up.  
"Rei-chan, finally! I've been calling you for hours!" Nagisa sighed in relief on the other end, and Rei could hear him fall back against the bed. He had a nervous habit of pacing the room when he was waiting for Rei to call back.  
"I was running a little late, Nagisa. Are you alright?" Rei smiled slightly, his arm tingling.  
Usually he checked his number every few hours, always nervous it would change. It never had.  
He pushed his sleeve up, turning his hand over as he held his phone between his shoulder and ear. Nagisa was talking about his day, something about going to lunch with Aiichirou and being trapped in horrific traffic.  
But Rei wasn't listening. No, he was much too focused on the fact that his number had changed.  
It had changed. Not even a couple hours ago, Rei was still at /53 y:7 mo:2 w:3 d:5 mi:45 s/.  
But now, now, all he had left was /0 y:0 m:0 w:0 d:65 m:15 s/.  
Rei audibly gasped, causing the old lady next to him to look at him strangely. He quickly pulled down his sleeve, trying to hide the shortened time on his wrist.  
"Rei-chan? What's wrong?" Worry showed in Nagisa's voice as he ceased his rant about traffic and not being able to buy groceries for dinner.  
"N-nothing, darling, nothing," Rei chewed at his lip nervously, letting his eyes flutter closed. He needed to stay calm. He needed to.  
"Rei-chan doesn't gasp for nothing, so tell me what's wrong," Nagisa whined.  
"I...I have to go, Nagisa. I...I miss you so, so much, ok? And I love you more than anything, you know that, don't you?"  
Nagisa scoffed, "Of course I know that, silly. Why would say that?" His voice rose an octave, nerves bubbling up in his stomach.  
"Nothing...Nagisa, I love you. I love you. I must go," he didn't bother waiting for a response as he hung up the phone.  
He gripped his phone in his hand tightly, so much his knuckles turned white. His screen lit up, notifying him Nagisa was calling him. He silenced his phone, slipping it into his pocket.  
He felt a clammy hand on his arm, and he jumped as he looked up at the old lady next to him.  
"Your clock changed when you sat down, hun, didn't it?" Her eyes showed concern, like she knew exactly why it had happened.  
Rei gulped, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to come up with a response. He couldn't for quite some time, but after several moments he somehow formed words.  
"I think..." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "It happened as soon as I boarded this plane. I was supposed to be on an earlier flight, but I-" he choked on his words.  
The old woman held out her wrist, "Mine was shortened by an hour. I still have quite some time left...did you know that you have a 64% survival rate if you sit in the aisle seat?"  
He watched in awe as the old woman stood, smiling at him, "Would you mind switching seats with me, dear? I do quite love a view."  
Rei nodded, a little confused by her previous statistic as well as her request. He obliged, polite even in catastrophe.  
As Rei took his new seat, the old woman turned to smile at him, "Would you do me one more favor?"  
He nodded, his imminent death leaving his mind as he focused on her, "Remember my name. I'm Raquel."  
She held out her hand, palm facing upwards. He at first thought she was asking for a handshake, but when he glanced down at her hand, his eyes flicked to the new number on her wrist.  
Rei gasped, "Is that why you...why would you...?"  
She chuckled, "I'm far too old, and I'm on my way home from visiting my grandchildren. I'm alright going out knowing that I just made a young man live a little longer," She took his hand, pushing up his sleeve just the slightest.  
Rei's eyes began to water, all he could see through his tears was his number had reverted back to its original form, /53 y:7 m:2 w:3 d:5 m:45 s/.  
"Thank you...thank you so much. I don't think you'll ever believe how grateful I am," he grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.  
She turned to look at him once again, "So, who's the lucky kid?" She nodded towards his pocket. The square box was obviously noticeable, but Nagisa was oblivious, and Rei was thankful for that. He just hoped he could still propose.  
"My boyfriend...he, um...well he's nothing like me. My complete opposite actually. He's funny, beautiful, he's always there for me and puts up with all my ridiculousness..."  
"How'd you two meet?" She grinned as he spent the next half hour babbling on about how they met, why Rei had cut his trip short by a day but ended up missing his new flight anyways, and how special Rei had wanted to make the proposal.  
"I'm sure he'll say yes," She managed to get out before suddenly the pilot came on over the speaker.  
"All the passengers please take your seats and put on your seatbelts. All flight attendants proceed to their class cabin and do the same."  
That was all they got before their was a deep groan from beneath all their feet, and a bomb went off.

 

"So they think it was just a terrorist attack?"  
Nagisa nodded fervently, clutching onto Rei's hand, "They aren't sure how the bomb made it through security."  
Rei sighed, biting his lip as he remembered everything from right before the crash.  
"Shit," he gasped.  
"Did Rei-chan just swear?" The blonde tilted his, slightly confused.  
"Did...they uhm...do you know where my clothes are?"  
He nodded, reaching down in his seat to grab a plastic bag, "They had me put everything in here for you."  
The taller male leaned over in his hospital bed, snatching it from his grasp.  
"Oh my goodness, Rei, calm down," Nagisa pouted, obviously offended by his sudden reaction.  
He gulped, "Sorry, Nagisa. I just...need to make sure...that something..." He muttered as he began to dig through the bag.  
And there at the bottom, sat the perfect-albeit a few scratches-black ring box that he had gotten from Nagisa's favorite place in the world: Australia.  
The blond stared at him incredulously, "What...is that..."  
Rei gulped, hands shaking, "This is definitely not how I wanted this to go. I promise you that," he locked eyes with Nagisa, holding the black velvet out for him.  
He took it hesitantly, opening it so carefully-the same way he unwrapped a piece of candy- and once he saw what was inside, his eyes filled with tears as he tackled Rei on the bed, "I'm so glad you're ok right now and I don't care if this isn't beautiful or any of that shit you always say. You're beautiful and I love you."  
Rei chuckled, "I love you, too. So...is that a yes then? You'll...you want to marry me?"  
He grinned after he pulled away, wiping his eyes, "Absolutely."


End file.
